RAE - Smash & Grab

About

Opening: 02nd of September from 7pm.

About RAE
For over a decade, New York City artist RAE, (aka RAE BK) has been blurring the lines of what it means to be a so-called, "street artist." Sure he checks all the boxes when it comes to creating murals, wheat-pasting graphic imagery and spray-painting unsanctioned works in the public space. He's even got one the most prolific and sustained sticker campaigns to ever exist in NYC and beyond. But what RAE's arsenal also possesses is a fusion of mixed-media paintings, foundobject sculptures, performance art, filmmaking, and overall storytelling that further detach him from what one may think of an artist who likes to see his work up on the streets. With that said— RAE himself prefers to be classified under such a title.

Motivated by placement in the landscape, how it decays, and the chance interaction it has with pedestrians, RAE's street-sculptures are comprised of discarded parts and scraps he collects along his journey. They are then up-cycled and reincarnated as captivating urban-figures which he re-installs to city structures for the public to consume. Many are still hanging in various stages of decay in places such as New York City, Iceland, Berlin and Ethiopia.

When he works indoors, RAE creates pop-infused, mixed-media paintings on canvas and wood with a striking juxtaposition of primitiveness versus planning; materiality versus blank space. His themes often take their cues from his personal life, everyday social interactions, the economic divide and the perils of living in the big city ―but you're never hit over the head by it.

From house paints to glitter to oil sticks, RAE thrives on using materials he's given or finds. This approach along with an aging process he applies to his surfaces, adds to the authenticity of the work— because it's always about that connection to the streets for RAE.

Such is the case when it comes to the locations he chooses for his one-of-a-kind, immersive, popup exhibitions. A New York City bodega, the basement of a Chinatown butcher shop, the small modest home of a family in Ethiopia; these are just some of the places RAE has chosen to display his mixed-media works and installations in an effort to bring his work directly to the viewer.

In 2017, RAE took up "residency" inside the display window of a Manhattan storefront. Twentyfour hours a day for thirty straight days, he ate, slept and created work inside the fish bowl-like setting to see what effect it would have on his work and how the public would react to him. The project was called, "The RAE Show" and it garnered a variety of press coverage from outlets such as The New York Times, Mass Appeal, Hyperallergic and local news channels. Eventually, NYC tour buses added it as one of its sight-seeing stops.

Considering the fact that many of RAE's street art pieces are unsanctioned, he continues to protect his identity from the public; often creating wearable papier-mâché or found-object sculptures for his performances or video projects